Setting up a Private Speech Pathology Practice? Don’t Miss Out on These Things

Sometimes, working in a school or a hospital setting feels a lot monotonous. Plus, the constraints of the working environment stifles many speech pathologists. That’s when many of you might think of starting your practice. 

But remember!

Building an ethical and highly profitable SLP business that grows leaps and bounds requires more than just a professional degree. But don’t forget you must have the certification and license to start your SLP practice. However, the ones who are only dreaming about the work environment’s flexibility must understand that you’ve to build a clientele first. 

Don’t forget that more than 80% of small businesses are unable to get things going in the first five years. I am sure none of you would want to be a part of such statistics. Right? 

Let me say this first, we are confident enough with your technical skills, but to help you prosper, you must focus on the following matters as well. 

Private SLP Practice Incorporation

Before starting anything on other aspects of running a business, you must have the degree or license to start your practice. If you are still in the learning phase, you can look for online speech pathology programs to advance in your career path. Once you settle that, the next step is to determine— Whether you want to start an LLC, Sole proprietorship, S-Corp, or C-Corp? Yes, you need to understand the legal structure of your business. The answer to this question is that it would be dependent on the state that you are thinking of running your business.

To help you a bit, let me clarify one thing that you can choose a business type and choose a different tax structure for your business. To find out, ask yourself whether you wish to transform your business into a public company or if you want to enter into partnerships. Or whether you require a loan to set up your business.

All these questions and help from legal experts will help you make an informed decision. 

Research is The Key to Make The Difference

Before opening doors for the clients/patients, you must understand that you’ll be entering a world with diverse patients. If you want to serve any special patients as per your specialization, you must research the market and your specific areas of interest. 

For instance, 

  • Whether your area of specialization will help you make the right impact in your locality?
  • Is there any competitor in your area of operation?
  • Will your practice work despite the changes in the population size?
  • Do you have enough patients to cater to?

Understanding every aspect of your business and clientele will help you make the right decision. 

Launching an Office Set-Up

When it comes to opening a private practice, initially, you can go for a home set up. Or you can go for something like “Clinic on wheels.” By that, I mean you can travel to clients’ locations. If your business gets the right kickstart, you can shift to opening an office space, depending on the type of clientele and if that will be feasible for them. 

After all, customers are the king, no matter what kind of business you own. They must be at the heart of everything. 

Setting up a Pricing Structure 

A lot of factors need to be considered before setting up a pricing plan. For instance, if you open a set up in New York, the pricing structure would be higher than what you can do for a small Midwestern town. It will also change if you need some office help to expand your business. Depending on all that, you can decide on the pricing structure. Also, along with this, you must decide on the payment methods. Either you can go cashless or cash-based, depending on what’s trending or what suits you better. 

Boosting Your Business With Marketing Collaterals 

Congratulations! You have finally opened up your speech pathology practice. But what next? Why would any client come to your clinic? Ever thought that? This is a digital age when everyone is looking for something over the internet. And if you miss out on that, you can’t think of expanding your business. 

Forget that. You can’t even start a business if you are not visible on the internet. So, you must prepare marketing communications to let people know— what you do? Why are you different from others? What areas do you specialize in? 

To Sum it Up

It’s not a surprise that owning a business comes with a lot of responsibilities and challenges. But the outcome makes the journey even more enticing. However, to reach such a result, you must be willing to give it all. Start by getting the required licenses and certifications to start your speech pathology business. Then develop expertise in billing, tax laws, marketing collaterals, and management. 

 

Only then can you start something that stays for years to come!

Rylie Holt